A&E: Behind the Scene, June 30

Jun. 28, 2013

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Downtown: where all the lights are bright - or will be soon

Local sculptor James Ellwanger is spearheading an effort to illuminate downtown’s Walnut Street sidewalks with color-coded lights. The project he calls “Spectrum” would create something of a glowing welcome mat in front of each storefront — yellow for places to eat and drink, blue for shops and services and red for arts and culture.

Local business owners could control the lights themselves. So if a bar (yellow) hosted a concert (red) the owners could make their sidewalk orange.

“It’s kind of a map or a way-finder,” said the artist, who flipped the switch last weekend on a prototype at U.S. Bank (blue), where Walnut crosses Sixth Street.

He added that visitors might eventually be able to control the lights themselves for a few minutes every hour, which would set the project apart from other high-wattage landmarks like the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas and the Luminous Pathway in Montreal.

Walnut Street was one of the first in Des Moines to glow with electricity around the turn of the last century.

“It’s just a really intelligent way to bring it all around. We’re surprised no one has already done this,” said the artist, who helped raise about $20,000 for the first phase.

Follow the project’s progress on the Facebook page WalnutStreetSpectrum.

Public artwork goes up in West Des Moines, soon in Waukee

The West Des Moines Public Arts Advisory Committee held a ceremony Thursday to unveil a set of new sculptures along the walking path that encircles the pond behind city hall. The eight works by five Iowa artists — Dan Belt, John Brommel, Oliver Chingren, Hilde DeBruyne, Bounnak Thammavong — will remain on display through Sept. 30.

Not to be outdone, a group met in Waukee on Wednesday to discuss plans for a permanent art installation at the Waukee Raccoon River Valley Trailhead, at the intersection of Hickman Road and Highway R22. David Dahlquist and Scott Crawford of RDG Planning & Design have been hired to gather public input and oversee the design.